getting an early start

s19438

Well-known Member
I am guessing you guys are just about as tired of my posts as I am posting them.

the way the boots are on these spark plugs I could see if there was any spark. so I removed the plugs starting with # 4 cyl. that plug had spark the rest did not. ????
now for TDC. I put my middle finger (cause that's just how I am feeling right now) over number 1 plug and when I felt pressure and heard the "squish" of air I let go of the starter button. the photo shows where the rotor is pointing. is there anything to be learned from this latest episode in frustration?
a150497.jpg
 
It looks like you're firing TDC on # 4,your dist rotates clockwise so take #1 wire and move it clockwise 1 terminal,10 O'clock?take #2 cyl. wire and put it in the next terminal CW and to #2 plug,take # 4 cyl. wire and put it in the 4-5 o'clock position and attach it to # 4 cyl. put the 8 o'clock wire on and attach to # 3 cyl. loosen the dist. enough to rotate it as you try starting the tractor,if you have fire to all plugs it should start,hope this makes sense to you.
 
(quoted from post at 07:01:15 03/21/14) I am guessing you guys are just about as tired of my posts as I am posting them.

the way the boots are on these spark plugs I could see if there was any spark. so I removed the plugs starting with # 4 cyl. that plug had spark the rest did not. ????
now for TDC. I put my middle finger (cause that's just how I am feeling right now) over number 1 plug and when I felt pressure and heard the "squish" of air I let go of the starter button. the photo shows where the rotor is pointing. is there anything to be learned from this latest episode in frustration?
a150497.jpg

Only number 4 is firing??


check the distribitor shaft for excessive play.. grab it and see if it wiggles.. it should have almost no play. pull dust cover and check for worn lobes... all four lobes on the shaft should open and close the points equally.... and move the number four plug to other cyl's and see if it fires on those... could be bad plugs or bad plug wires as well....

all four should fire... then its a matter of getting number one back in timing again. when you fill the air coming out of number one, use a flashlight or find the timing mark to get it on tdc top dead center" then the distribitor will point to number one or... it will point 180 out.. depending if its on the intake stroke or on the exhuast stroke. so you have a 50/50 chance... it need to be on the intake stroke to set it back in time or put the plug wires on correctly.
 
Good Morning s19438,

The rotor is pointing where it thinks #1 cylinder is. Your #1 plug wire should go on the tower of your cap it points to.

Finding spark at #4 and not on the rest means you have confirmed you have a spark problem. Now the question is where the issue lies. A good place to start is where sunbeam suggested. Check the points gap. They might be adjusted too tight and the only one they can actually work is on #4.

It might be a couple of other things too, but the points are the most likely culprit. Try adjusting the points gap first. Put it back together starting with #1 wire on the tower the rotor is pointing to and follow the pattern of your firing order clockwise from there.

Let us know how it goes.
 
It seems that your rotor clip is pointing to #4 plug. the brass end will send the current to #4.

rotate the dist. to #1 which is 180 from there and re attach your cap.

you were shown the correct set up yesterday with another f-2000.

firing order is 1 2 4 3 with #1 being at the front of the tractor.

#1 on the distr. is directly opposite from the #4 you have shown.

if this does not work then pull your plugs and rotate the motor until you find compression on #1 piston. at that point you should have tdc on that piston AND you should have the correct location for #1 on the distr.
reinstall the plugs and put the cap back on and it should fire up.
 
You might check the rotor cap could be damage in it. Could be cracked or corrosion where you plugged the wires in it also the wires might not be making contact in the cap.
 
Make sure the wire running from your coil down to the distributer is connected properly. Check the connection inside the distributor, I had an 850 positive ground that was shorting inside the distributor. Would not hit a lick.
 

You need to get it closer to TDC than just on the upstroke. You were told to stick something in the plug hole and turn it by hand until it stops pushing up whatever you stick in there. I use a screwdriver.
 
putting something in a hole that is not supposed to be there scares me a bit. but tomorrow is another day.
 

Sorry I missed that detail. Glad showcrop caught it.
Choose something that doesn't have a sharp point to stick in the hole and is long enough. If you have an old [u:a95ec1a74d]long[/u:a95ec1a74d] screwdriver, they work the best. The handle will prevent it from falling in if it is too short. Careful not to scratch the cylinder walls.

If that rotor position in your picture is at the beginning of the compression stroke then the cap tower for #1 cylinder is probably going to end up to be the one closest to the engine block.
 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there not a #1 etched on that cap on the terminal nearest where your rotor is pointing? Try putting #1 plug wire in that terminal and follow it clockwise around the cap with 2, 4 and 3.

This doesn't explain why your finding fire only at number 4, however, if the tractor ran well until the varmint chewed the plug wires, I'll say it again: [b:51cafe4b3c][color=red:51cafe4b3c]Get the plug wires in the correct location on that cap, no matter what you have to do to figure out what that is, before you try anything else![/color:51cafe4b3c][/b:51cafe4b3c]
 
No wonder the poor guy is confused with such conflicting information. Do not rotate the distributor base. It was running before, so it is only a matter of getting wires back the way they were.
 
If #4 plug has spark and #1-2-3 does not I can not see how sticking something in the plug hole to make sure where TDC is or adjusting the timing is gona make one bit of difference.
Maybe one of these guys can explain that to me.

If you have not moved the distributor since it last ran I would not mess with the timing till I got all 4 plugs firing.

I would think one of the below is your problem.
Your points are set to close; your distributor cam lobes are worn; your distributor shaft bearing is bad causing the shaft to move side to side; your cap; rotor or plug wires are bad.
 

Hi John,

Here is your explanation. I'm not trying to be a wise-acre just giving you the facts.

We have been working with s19438 to get him back from the squirrel attack his tractor suffered over the winter. All wires were chewed off and no idea of which #1 was on his unmarked distributor cap. Finding TDC was only to get to locate where the rotor wanted #1 wire to go.

It wasn't until this thread (last 1 of 3) that s19438 checked the spark at the plug wires and discovered the only one firing was the one he had plugged into cylinder #4. s19438's first attempt at fixing the problem was to clean the points up. Chances are when the points were put back they were put back so the one lobe worked and the rest not.

We were tackling this one issue at a time. While we need to find TDC for #1 on the cap, now we also need to set the points gap (or figure out why only one lobe is working the points) before we are done in the distributor. He most likely has worn lobes on the shaft but the points can still probably be adjusted so they make & break on all the lobes. It might not be the perfect solution but it should get the tractor running.
 

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